Can an Independent Contractor Agreement be for a fixed-term?

An independent contractor is nothing more than an independent business doing business with another independent business or person. The party's agreement regarding the terms and conditions is a contract. The terms of the contract will control. The contract can be oral or written, although it is a very good idea to have a written contract. The parties can agree to what ever length of time they wish to have. A word of caution: mischaracterization of an employee as an independent contractor can lead to very bad things in the future. If you are contemplating an independent contractor agreement where one of the parties is an individual working for another, and there is any degree of control by the one party over how the other party carries out the job, you really need to get some solid advice about whether or not the characterization of the person as an independent contractor is accurate or not. The consquences for mischaracterizing can be devastating. As to breach, if one of the parties to an independent contractor agreement breaches the agreement, you may seek damages associated with the breach. You are entitled to all reasonably foreseeable losses that would be incurred as measured by the parties' expectations at the beginning of the agreement. Liquidated damages are disfavored in the law, and cannot be punitive in nature. They are only allowed to reasonably approximate the actual damages the parties believe would be incurred if there was a breach. Be careful about putting in an excessive liquidated damages provision. It may be invalidated if found to be overly punitive. A provision that says the independent contractor cannot work for a competitor is an absolute no no. California Business and Professions Code section 16600 prohibits any contractual restraint of trade, and the California Supreme Court has upheld the unenforceability of any kind of non-compete provision. In fact it can be considered an unlawful business practice to even have such a provision in your agreement. Do not do this. What you wish to do is somewhat doable. You need to hire an attorney to put together this agreement for you. Do not try this on your own. You will mess it up. Good luck to you.

A properly drafted agreement should be able to meet your needs. Some conditions may be harder to enforce (e.g. non-compete clauses.) Rob Lic. CA and MN

Sure. You can contract for just about anything . The law favors the freedom to contract .

Well the nature of the beast is its "independence". So if you want them to work for you exclusively and for a fixed term, then that is strong evidence that they are your employee and not an independent contractor...